


Snowed In

by girlnumber3belcher



Category: Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens (2015)
Genre: F/M, Mountain amnesia AU, Multi
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-08-27
Updated: 2016-08-26
Packaged: 2018-08-11 06:55:46
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,626
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7880893
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/girlnumber3belcher/pseuds/girlnumber3belcher
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Rey lives a secluded life in a cabin in the mountains. She prefers the isolation and stockpiles food and supplies for the long, harsh winter, typically snowed in. However, one night alerted by her only real companion, a wolfdog named Saber, she finds she won't be alone this winter.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Snowed In

A sharp howl woke Rey from a deep sleep. Thinking it was part of a dream now fading, she lay quiet in the loft bed of her mountaintop cabin. When she heard nothing but the hiss of dying embers and the soft pelt of snow on the window panes, she eased her head back onto her pillow and snuggled deep under her many quilts and afghans. Her wood burning stove was smoldering, putting off the barest amount of heat. The winter snow storm she uncannily predicted was covering the house and ground with layer after layer of arctic white drifts. Rey knew she should put some more wood in the stove but she was so warm she could just drift right back....

 

"Wooooooooooooooo," came the howl of Saber.

 

_So it wasn't my dream..._

 

Saber, Rey's wolf dog, was not exactly the type to howl this close to the cabin, especially at night. Especially with such an urgent tone. Then Rey heard the canine's claws scratching the front door, which had never happened before. Furrowing her brow, Rey pushed the covers off and sprinted down the steps of the loft. Clad only in her long underwear she pulled open the door. Saber stood very alert in front of her. His nose sniffing all the while.

 

"What?" she asked, as though the dog would reply.

 

Saber barked and whined in response. Rey leaned down to see if Saber was injured but he ran part way back into the yard chuffing at her.

 

"Saber, this is a weird time to want to play," Rey back into the cabin to close the door only to have Saber lunge in and grab her arm gently in his mouth. 

 

Despite the high content of wolf in his blood, Saber was the least feral of his brothers and sisters that were dumped in the woods near Rey's cabin. Of the 5 pups, Saber actually sought Rey out. He didn't want to live inside but the dog in his blood made him a people pleaser. Knowing her companion's personality well enough in this moment Rey took her arm back from Saber's mouth and hurriedly dressed. He was determined to get her out there with him so she would follow wherever he intended to lead her. Even though the moon was full and shining brightly off the snow, Rey took out her high powered fog light. She reached for her rifle as well but Saber woofed at her and nipped the pant leg of her snowsuit to pull her along.

 

"Ugh, fine," she said to him; he cocked his head as she muttered about being the idiot that let's her dog tell her what to do.

 

Once outside Saber being circling the snow mobile parked at the side of the storehouse. Without a word, Rey started the engine.

 

"Lead the way," she told Saber lowering her goggles, covering her mouth with her scarf, and kicking on the halogen lamp.

 

Rey followed at a safe distance, making sure she noted land markers so she could navigate back. Even an experienced woodsman like Rey could easily get lost in the snow. Every drift looked the same, every tree. There weren't signs for miles and most of the area was owned by either Rey or the bank. It would be a safe bet that there were few who wanted to live in the mountains that received the highest snowfall percentage in the states. Rey could actually only think of one person, herself. After nearly 20 minutes of zigzagging through the woods Saber came to a clearing. Though the snow was falling thickly Rey could see exactly what had Saber in a tizzy.  A body lay prone in the snow, slowly being covered.

 

A sick feeling spread in her stomach when Rey realized had she not trusted Saber this person would not have even been visible in the morning. Rushing to their side, she brushed the snow off until she saw his face. A beautiful young man with a perfectly sculpted face and full lips. Panicked she felt for a pulse. Mercifully it was thready but there. With adrenaline pumping through her veins, Rey grabbed the man by his brown leather jacket and dragged him to the snow mobile.

 

"You are woefully under-dressed for this climate, sir," she huffed while making sure he was secure.

 

Saber ran alongside as Rey sped the man to the cabin. She pushed the little snow mobile to it's limits as her brain either recalled the markers subconsciously or she just felt it. Rey navigated herself back to the cabin without so much as a thought other than, "Dear lord, what do I do when I get home"!

 

Dragging the man into the living room she stoked the fire in the hearth hastily feeding more logs in. At one point she nearly put the embers out completely by smothering it in her panic. Muttering to herself all the while she finally got it roaring.

 

"A hot bath? No! A WARM bath," she was speaking aloud purely for her own benefit at this point. Saber had not joined her inside and the man was clearly unconscious. 

 

Rey ran out into the snow with huge metal buckets, shoveling copious amounts of snow into them she rushed back in to heat them on the stove.

 

Living a pioneer life with no running water was fine for her, alone. Rey often planned things out. Took baths when they were necessary and had plenty of time to heat water for them. However, in this frantic moment the snow wasn't melting or heating nearly as quickly as she needed.

 

"Wet clothes," she mumbled then began to undress the man.

 

"Sorry about this," she tried to avert her eyes as much as possible as she peeled his underwear off.

 

Once she shed the last of his clothes, Rey piled all the blankets from her bed on top of him. Just a mere hour ago she was snuggled down under all the covers toasty warm and dreaming and now she was just hoping she could combat this man's hypothermia.

 

"Don't worry, Mister. I'll do everything I can."

 

In the heartbeat after her words she heard a small groan. Though he didn't open his eyes, Rey was heartened all the same.

 

Once the water was warm enough, Rey lugged it and then her patient into the bath tub. Making sure the wood stove in the bathroom was properly blazing she allowed herself to slump onto the floor by the tub. Running through her short list of options she thought about driving the snow mobile to the nearest town. That however, was out of the question with town being 80 miles out and her sled only getting 60 miles to the gallon. Even unplugging would only get her 10% more fuel and there's no guarantee she'd make it, especially after her excursion out to find this man and bring him back. Her truck was definitely OUT of the question, buried under a huge drift. Plus, there was no road passable to drive the truck on. She was simply unprepared for this type of disaster. And Rey prided herself on preparedness.

 

Every spring she cultivated a garden with vegetables she could easily freeze or can. She bought half of a pig and cow every year so she could have bacon, ham, steaks and ground beef in the winter, not to mention gallons of bone broth - all of which was frozen in her store room. Over summer and fall she chopped, corded, and stack wood for her wood burning stoves and fireplace. Having done this for many years she knew exactly what she needed. She knew how to prepare for her winter. Her first aid kit, medicine cabinet, and herbal remedies -- though all fully stocked could do nothing to help this man in his current state. She peered over the rim of the tub at him. His eyes were still closed.

 

Rey spent the next few hours fretting over the man in her tub. She refreshed it with warmer water when it cooled, she checked his temperature several times, and she even just flat out asked him to wake up. Once she was satisfied his temp was on the rise from 90 degrees to 95, she pulled him from the tub. This was much harder than loading, unloading and putting him in the tub had been. Much of her adrenaline had worn off. She realized too late that the bath probably wasn't necessary but with no power, internet, or phone it wasn't as though she could just Google it. Again, typically those things weren't a problem, however, now it could impede this man's recovery. For the millionth time she felt nauseous worry gnawing at her.

 

_This has to work. This is going to be ok._

 

"This is going to be ok!" she reassured the unconscious man as she dressed him in a pair of sweatpants and an old sweatshirt from a former boyfriend. She squeezed a pair of woolen socks over his huge feet and smirked.

 

"I hope you pull out of this," she sighed.

 

With the last of her strength Rey hoisted her ward onto the couch in the living room in front of the fireplace and tucked several blankets on top of him. She gently felt his forehead, thankfully, it was warm but not feverish. Instead of trying to get more sleep, though she desperately needed it, Rey moved to the kitchen to start a meal. Though the sun was peaking it's way into the window over the counter top breakfast didn't feel appropriate. Instead she began to warm a pot of frozen chili from the store room and toasting a few pieces of frozen bread, humming an optimistic tune as she did so.


End file.
